Kent State men’s golf team prepares for the Cleveland State Invitational after a bye week following their ninth place finish at the Inverness Intercollegiate.  

“Well first, we gave them some days off,” said head coach Herb Page. “I think the biggest thing for them is to get caught up in school and caught up in all their stuff so they are mentally ready.”

The players, too, recognized the benefit of the week off.

“It was good to have the week off,” said sophomore Ian Holt. “Just to be able to work on things and practice and come out and play, it was just a good week off.”

Sophomore Chase Johnson also believes the break helped the player’s mentally prepare for the upcoming tournament.

“The main reason was to relax ourselves mentally,” Johnson said. “Everyone, if they are mentally focused, can get rid of two or three extra shots.  That’s the big thing we’ve been working on is just getting rested and ready for the weekend.”

Just because the team wasn’t playing doesn’t mean the players didn’t practice, spending time at the practice facility on their days off, getting at least a little practice in before the weekend, according to Page.

Even with the days off, team focus hasn’t slowed down at all.

“The biggest thing we worked on was distance control.  We did some drills on the course from 100, 120, 140,150 yards,” Page said. “And, it’s not just going to help them for this week, but it’s just constantly trying to get them to manage their games.”

The team plays Oct. 5-6.  

“In the scope of things, this is one of the fields that isn’t as strong as what we are going to play later. Though, right now it isn’t about the field it’s about Kent State,” Page said.  “We need to get an identity. We’re not worried about them, we’re worried about Kent State and our players playing to their potential.”

Contact Chris Yamnitsky at [email protected].